The mighty twelve-cylinder engine has a long, proud history with Ferrari, and the car maker has no intention of letting that story conclude anytime soon—environmental regulations be damned.

Well, less "environmental regulations be damned" and more "environmental regulations be worked with," since even the Fiat Group really wouldn't stand much of a chance against the combined environmental policies of the United States and the European Union. So the Ferrari V12 will stick around, but it'll be married to an electric motor to appease the environmental lobby.

Hybrid powertrains wouldn't be relegated only to V12 models; in fact, odds are good every model in the lineup will be receiving a gas-electric powerplant in the near future. "It is possible that this technology will be on all Ferraris. It has been designed to fit all our future architecture, and if we go ahead it will be fitted as standard. It is not the sort of thing you offer as an option," Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa told Autocar.

Of course, Ferrari isn't planning on letting the quest for environmental goodwill harm his cars' performance or price. "Evolution will bring down the cost and weight disadvantages," of hybrid systems, Felisa said. Besides, there are other ways of keeping fuel use and emissions down—like, for example, swapping out naturally aspirated V8s and plugging turbocharged V6s into lower models. It's quite feasible, now that Formula One is making that move.

“Why not six cylinders?” Felisa told Autocar. “It is far away in the future, perhaps, but it is clear perceptions have altered. We have to think in that direction.” [via Autocar]